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When Edward VI died in 1553, the extraordinary fact was that there was no one left to claim the title of king of England. For the first time, England would have a reigning queen, but the question was which one: Katherine of Aragon's daughter, Mary; Anne Boleyn's daughter, Elizabeth; or one of their cousins, Lady Jane Grey or Mary, Queen of Scots. But female rule in England also had a past. Four hundred years before Edward's death, Matilda, daughter of Henry I and granddaughter of William the Conqueror, came tantalizingly close to securing the crown for herself. And between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries three more exceptional women -- Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, and Margaret of Anjou -- discovered how much was possible if presumptions of male rule were not confronted so explicitly, and just how quickly they might be vilified as "she-wolves" for their pains. The stories of these women, told here in all their vivid detail, expose the paradox that female heirs to the Tudor throne had no choice but to negotiate. Man was the head of woman, and the king was the head of all. How, then, could royal power lie in female hands?-- From publisher description.… (more)
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The book was framed around the year 1553 when King Edward VI died and all potential heirs was female. It introduces
Matilda’s father made his lords swear that she was his heir and would rule after him. However, the throne was seized by an usurper, King Stephan, who got to the treasury before anyone else. What followed was civil war with Matilda fighting for the right to the throne. However, she eventually gave up her own claim in favor of that of her son.
Eleanor of Aquitaine was married first to the King of France but arranged an annulment to marry the King of England. She had a very long and eventful life, and her’s was probably my favorite section of the book.
Isabella of France was married to King Edward II, who ignored his duties and the war with Scotland in his obsession with his lover, a man named Piers Gaveston. This led to lasting problems with his lords and to Isabella eventually seizing the throne in name of her young son.
Margaret of Anjou was a French woman married to King Henry VI during the War of the Roses. Her husband was not a capable ruler, and Margaret believed that she should be the one filling the void.
These women were all trapped by a catch-22 that limited female rulership: women were too weak to be rulers, but if a woman was strong enough to rule then she was monstrous and unnatural. To try and avoid this, these four woman found power in their roles as wives and mothers.
I found She-Wolves fascinating and a hard book to put down. It wasn’t too academic and could be easily understood by someone without background in medieval history. The writing was likewise elegant and never became obtuse or unwieldy.
I thought the political intrigue, conspiracies, and battles for power were very interesting. I would recommend this book to history buffs, people interested in historical women, or people who enjoy books such as Game of Thrones.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
But female rule in England also had a past. Four hundred years before Edward's death, Matilda, daughter of Henry I and granddaughter of William the Conqueror, came tantalizingly close to securing the crown for herself. And between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries three more exceptional women--Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, and Margaret of Anjou--discovered how much was possible if pre-sumptions of male rule were not confronted so explicitly--and just how quickly they might be vilified as "she-wolves" for their pains.
The stories of these women, told here in all their vivid detail, expose the paradox that female heirs to the Tudor throne had no choice but to negotiate. Man was the head of woman, and the king was the head of all. How, then, could royal power lie in female hands?
* Wonderfully well researched
* Fascinating historical information
* Learned a lot about Matilda, that I had never known before. Ok most of the stuff I "know" about her came from the novel Pillars of the Earth
* Powerful women taking charge and flouting male authority
* Insightful
* Extremely thorough in historical detail
The Not so Good Stuff
* Way too scholarly for day to day reading, but a great text for historical information, written in a fascinating way
* Very, very dry at times and a little confusing
Favorite Quotes/Passages
"I know I have the body of a weak and feeble women, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too - Queen Elizabeth 1, 1588"
What I Learned
* Fascinating historical information of lesser known female rulers
* Way too many interesting tidbits about British history to mention
* I always thought that Henry VIII's son, Edward VI, was a weakling all his life
Who should/shouldn't read
* This is definitely more for the educated scholar than to someone like me
* Wonderful resource for high school and public libraries, as it makes history come alive
3 Dewey's
I received this from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review -- sorry guys this one was way over my head
I came away from the book with profound thankfulness that humans have made at least some progress from the days when thousands died because some poor queen had a girl instead of a boy.
And--sigh--the author is one of those who thinks Richard III murdered the princes in the tower. Hard for Tey fans!
She-Wolves is an entertaining and clearly written account of English queens (well, mostly French really, but queens of England) who stood out from obscurity because they had to go the extra mile to cope with having their throne snatched out from under them
I'm not sure exactly why Castor wraps the whole account up inside the power struggle that took place to fill the royal vacancy left when Edward VI died, because she didn't, to my mind, do enough exploration of the fascinating reigns of Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I. Now I know those reigns HAVE been explored many times and perhaps that's reason enough not to cover them thoroughly, but I would have liked more, especially when it came to Elizabeth. The Bad Jane part of me keeps whispering that Castor put medieval history inside a Tudor wrapping because the Tudors are way more trendy and sexy (from a book-selling standpoint) than their lesser known forebears.
Be that as it may, I enjoyed the read. Castor has a nice, clear way of telling a story with just enough detail and never too much. Recommended.
Split into sections devoted to each of the women, Ms. Castor takes the reader through the rise and fall of each woman. It allows the reader to put other, more well-known British kings into context, connecting the Tudor dynasty with that of the Plantagenet and the Lancaster dynasties. Unfortunately, some of the women portrayed are more compelling than the others, making those chapters much more enjoyable. The inconsistency between the chapters makes the reading jagged and uneven at times. Given how interesting they are and how engaging the strong chapters are, it is easier for the reader to notice the weaker ones, for which a reader cannot help but be disappointed.
The histories of each woman are well-researched. Ms. Castor presents each woman's history along with background information on the social and political contexts each woman had to face. Well-written and carefully plotted, the weaknesses in certain chapters are more an issue of the subject matter and not any fault of the author. She executes all chapters in a straightforward, unbiased manner that definitely helps offset any shortcomings as much as possible.
She-Wolves is a well-executed, thorough collection. The women all deserve their own chance to shine, and Ms. Castor gives them that opportunity. History buffs will appreciate this introduction to four extremely interesting precursors to Mary I and Elizabeth I, and Tudor fans will enjoy the chance to expand their knowledge on this infamous family.
Included are:
Matilda: Lady of England 1102-1167
Eleanor: An Incomparable Woman 1124-1204 (long lived indeed!)
Isabella: Iron Lady 1295-1358
Margaret: A Great and Strong Laboured Woman 1430-1482
and, as the books returns to the time of the Tudors and the death of Edward VI, in "New Beginnings"
Mary and her disastrous marriage with Philip of Spain. The book ends as Elizabeth I is handed the reins of of government and becomes both the King and Queen of her kingdom.
Each section is preceded by a both a genealogy as well as a map of the Kingdom as it existed at that point in history. Very helpful while you are reading about the constantly changing boundaries of the various countries. The genealogies really made me realize how small the pool of available spouses for royal marriages really was at the time. Papal dispensations for consanguinity matters must have been a steady source of revenue for the Church! Ms. Castor has an uncanny ability to write non-fiction that reads as enjoyably as fiction. I was sorry when the book ended - wanting more of this truly riveting history. The struggle of female rulers really was the the beginning of the fight for women's rights and the fact that these amazing, talented, strong women managed to rule as they did is a wonder. I wonder how many modern women would have the tenacity and determination to breach the boundaries of proper 'etiquette' as these female rulers did. It boggles my mind at how strong and focused they must have been. No doubt they would be the sort of successful women who would, to this day, be called She Wolves, baracuddas, or another word that begins with the letter b----.
I wished that the book had more illustrations - but then I always wish that. I always want more images to pair with the words in a book. The included 8 pages of color images are well done - but more would have been better (of course!) This book will, I think, hold wide appeal to history buffs - especially those who are Anglophiles as I am, as well as for people who study women's rights and societal issues.
I will be on the pre-order list as soon as I hear about Helen Castor's next book !
Inept male kings, religious politics with capital punishments meted out on either side for heresy, former old friends who were in power like
An eye opener because us women have to take control to make our men, countries families etc prosper.
Having recently read the book When Christ and His Saints Slept, I was well familiar with the story of Mathilde, the presumptive heir of Henry I, whose crown was unceremoniously usurped by her nephew Stephen. There followed a twenty year civil war which was only settled by the agreement that Mathilde’s son Henry would succeed Stephen on the throne. While this account of Mathilde’s life was necessarily shorter than the full length book on the subject (which was somewhat novelized), it was probably more suitable in length and historical accuracy.
I was also familiar with the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of Mathilde’s son Henry, having read Allison Weir’s presumptive biography. I say “presumptive” since there is far too little source material to fill a book on her life without an abundance of filler and presumption. Again, this book contains all you need to know about her dalliance with royal power.
The other two historical personages covered in this book were not as well known to me. My knowledge of Isabella was largely derived from the highly fictionalized portrayal in Braveheart. In some of my reading on English history, I had been exposed to a more historically accurate account of her travails, but this was a very good refresher in that regard.
The final “queen” was one of which I had very little previous exposure, Margaret of Anjou, whose husband was essentially an imbecile. Most of these women attempted to rule either in the presence of incapable or disinterested leadership on the part of their husband, in the name of their minor sons, or both. Unlike in France, where the Salic Law forbade the succession of a female ruling monarch, the problems of these women were not statutory in nature, as much as human nature of the period.
It was only with the death of Edward VI (only son of Henry VIII) and the utter absence of any possible male successor, that Queen Mary was allowed to assume the crown. In fact, the issue was more one of religion than gender, as the Protestant Edward was so desperate to avoid handing the crown to his Catholic older sister, that he designated a distant female relative (Lady Jane Grey) as his successor. Mary nevertheless survived he power struggle and paved the way for Elizabeth I to succeed her.
I really liked this one but it's gonna take me a bit to write a decent review.